111. One of the old, hard-as-nails teachers (She wants everyone to think that, but really she has a huge heart) picks up that I haven’t been hugged in a long time. She gives me a hug. (She smells lovely and her hug is warm. At one point I am not sure if she will let me live, but just as I am about to faint, she lets me take a breath.) Another time, I saw the strictest teacher in the school (Tall, bony, thin and witch-like) hugging a little boy who was crying. Hugs are one of the things in the world everyone loves giving and receiving.
112. The teacher starts a lesson, in maths, on dividing decimals by decimals but then says, ‘I have never, ever done this in my life, and most of you have calculators, so we are just going to go to another topic.’ And he does. Yep, it is a good thing in education when a teacher is human.
113. I sing in class. I just done mean in Music lessons. I mean, when I am writing a story or reading a book, or doing some computer research – actually that is the best time. Sometimes, sometimes, the teacher lets us put on headphones and listen to music. One time I was singing in maths and a boy complained to the teacher, saying that he couldn’t concentrate. The teacher responded that normally we don’t sing, so today we’ll allow singing. And I sang my heart out.
114. I hold the hand of the special girl who cries on staircases, and I walk her down the stairs and she doesn’t cry. This gives me a great feeling because the teacher trusted me, the girl trusted me, and I managed to get us both downstairs without tumbling, falling and being the whole ‘broken crown’ thing.
115. I see the teacher driving to school with his head out of the car window. I am on the train one day and I see the teacher driving along beside us. He accelerates, which makes me think he is racing the train. Then, in a dual carriage situation, he sticks his head out the window. His long hair trails behind and his face wears a grin; he loves school too, that guy.
(Copy copyright: From the I love school, even when I’m an old teacher, group.)